Fire & Ice 2017 enjoys record crowds during unseasonably warm weekend

Fire & Ice organizers say as many as 60,000 people attended the three-day festival Feb. 17-19, which opened with a relatively chilly Friday night block party and gradually warmed up as the weekend progressed. Broad and Main streets were closed to vehicle traffic Friday night, and large crowds gathered downtown and in Lititz Springs Park to see live ice sculpture carving and the breathtaking illuminations created by Stray Productions.

Saturday in Lititz was just as busy as crowds meandered among the ice displays as they slowly melted in the spring-like weather.

Many downtown retailers are reporting a strong surge in sales due to the attraction.

The Record Express sent freelance photographers Dennis Bicksler and Laura Knowles into the field, and this gallery is a collection of what they experienced Friday and Saturday.

For full coverage of the big weekend events, including the chili cook-off, pick up this week’s print edition of the Lititz Record Express. It’s on newsstands now!